Fred Kerley is one of the fastest and most versatile runners in the world. He’s the only man to ever run sub-9.80 seconds in the 100m, sub-19.80 seconds in the 200m and sub-43.80 seconds in the 400m. And his blistering personal best 100 metre time of 9.76 seconds makes him the sixth fastest man of all time. It’s no surprise then that Kerley dominated his competition during a recent trip to Australia.
Last month, Kerley headed down under for his first races of the 2023 season. His face-off with Australian athlete Rohan Browning was touted as the biggest sprint battle this country has seen in years. Kerley didn’t disappoint. The 27-year-old blew away his competition in the 200m at the inaugural Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne. Before a scintillating performance at the Sydney track classic in the 400m saw him finish nearly two full seconds ahead of his nearest competitors.
The sprinter isn’t done there. As he declared to Men’s Health, he’s feeling great and is positive he’ll retain his 100m title at this year’s world championships. “Winter training has gone well and I’m in a very good place overall.” Kerley said. “I’ll continue working hard for the next few months to try to arrive at the World Championships in Budapest in the best possible shape.”
Kerley doesn’t shy away from backing himself. When I asked if his goal for the next Olympics was to win a gold medal, he was clear in his response, and upped the ante further. “I would love to win 4 golds,” he said. That would be a record medal haul. Even the legendary Usain Bolt never captured more than three medals at a single Olympics, but Kerley promises he’s up to the task. He added that he expects to win these medals in the 100m and 200m individual events and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
“I aim to win every race no matter what event I am running.”
Kerley is certainly confident in his own abilities. Being the 100-metre world champion will add that element to your bravado. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t training like hell to accomplish his goals. When he’s back home stateside, Kerley’s training days start at 6:30am. He alternates between track and grass for his priority workouts. And follows those sessions up with strength and conditioning training in the gym. Not one to take recovery lightly, Kerley performs a full warm up and cool down before and after his workouts, followed by physiotherapy treatment in the afternoon.
Hard work and commitment to being the best doesn’t just start in training. If you ask Kerley, he’ll tell you nutrition is just as important. “In my sport, milliseconds can make a huge difference. I have to make sure I fuel my body correctly to maximise my performance and recover quickly from hard workouts.” A big believer in eating wholesome, natural food, Kerley loves gardening. And he often shares his passion on social media.
Kerley garden coming along nicely pic.twitter.com/FPCYU9hHcG
— Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) March 29, 2022
“I like gardening and grow a lot of my own vegetables. I love eating healthy directly from nature.”
Running is a high-performance sport. Sprinters are known to focus on all the minutiae to give themselves an edge. Kerley admits that there is a secret to his success – it’s all about the right gear. “We need the best product to run fast and stay injury free,” he said. “I partnered with ASICS this year and am extremely happy with this choice.” For Kerley, his ASICS spikes are what has propelled him to victory while in Australia. “The 200m in Melbourne was my first race in the new ASICS spikes and it was good to confirm where I was at in my training.”
Kerley will get his opportunity to put on a show and defend his world title at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary later this year. If you take his word for it, he’s certain to light up the track yet again and take home even more medals.
Fred Kerley: Yes, I am very confident. Winter training has gone well and I’m in a very good place overall. I’ll continue working hard for the next few months to try to arrive at the World Championships in Budapest in the best possible shape. I started working with ASICS this year and hope to put them at the top of the podium.
FK: When I am at home in Miami, I normally leave home around 6:30am to go to training. I’m usually at the track or on the grass depending on the type of workout my coach has planned. I’ll do a full warm up before the main workout and a full cool down afterwards. I do strength and conditioning around 10am and then home for lunch. I usually have treatment in the afternoon. I eat dinner around 7pm and usually try to go to bed around 10pm.
FK: I don’t really prepare differently. I aim to win every race no matter what event I am running. Each race has different technical requirements that we will work on during the season in order to peak when it counts at the major Championship.
FK: Nutrition is very important. If you follow me on social media, you will see that I like gardening and grow a lot of my own vegetables. I love eating healthy directly from nature. In my sport milliseconds can make a huge difference so I have to make sure I fuel my body correctly to maximise my performance and recover quickly from hard workouts.
@bksports1122 Congrats to all Aussie sprinters in the race! #fyp #fypシ #シ #foryou #viral #xyzbca #athletics #olympics #fredkerley #australia @Athletics Australia ♬ original sound – BK
FK: I would love to win 4 golds – 100m, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m.
FK: The 200m in Melbourne was my first race of the year, my first race in the new ASICS spikes and it was good to confirm where I was at in my training. My visit to Australia has been amazing and I wanted to put on a good show for the crowd.
FK: It’s very important to use the right gear. Sprinting is a high-performance sport. We need the best product to run fast and stay injury free. We push our bodies to the limit. I partnered with ASICS this year and am extremely happy with this choice. The footwear and apparel are really excellent and recently I ran in the new ASICS spikes where I won the 200m in Melbourne. The ASICS slogan, sound mind and sound body, inspires my training routines and gives me confidence that my preparations on and off the track will ensure that I am as successful as possible over the next few years.
